Chapter 1
Divided Paths: a series based on the Conversion Bureau created by Blaze.
Episode one: Field Trip
Chapter one
It was a perfect spring day in Ponyville, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were trying to figure out what to try to get for their Cutie Marks. “So maybe we could be Cutie Mark Crusaders tour guides?” Sweetie Bell asked.
Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Like anypony would want a tour of Ponyville.”
Apple Bloom was running out of ideas. “Come on girls we got to think of somethin! Maybe we can get a Cutie Mark for, for…”
“Being losers!” it was Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon was with her.
“And I bet that the Cutie Mark for that is exactly what you got Blank Flanks!” Silver Spoon said.
“Yeah maybe you already got those marks and don’t even know it!” Diamond Tiara added.
“Why do you two have to keep teasing us huh? Why can’t you just leave us be?” Apple Bloom said.
“Why shouldn’t we? You humiliated me lots of times!” Diamond Tiara yelled.
“You’re always the one who starts it!” Apple Bloom yelled back. As the two continued to argue the other three fillies saw something they found quite strange.
“Ha! You’ve tired so many things I bet you won’t get a Cutie Mark until you’re a grown mare!” Diamond Tiara said.
“I may have been scared of something like that before but my big sister told me that all ponies get their mark before they grow up so it won’t happen!” Apple Bloom said.
“I’m not so sure about that Apple Bloom,” Sweetie Bell said.
“Why?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Because we are looking at two grown earth ponies without Cutie Marks right now!” Silver Spoon said.
“What?” Both Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara could hardly believe their eyes as they turned, right in front of them were two grown earth ponies, a grey stallion and a red mare, loading a bed into a wagon. They both had blank flanks. The children approached them as they hitched themselves to the wagon. “Excuse us!” Apple Bloom spoke getting the attention of the strange ponies. “None of us want to be mean or anything but we couldn’t help but notice that ya’ll are grown ups and you got no Cutie Marks and we want to know why.”
The two ponies looked at each other for a moment and then looked back at the fillies. The stallion spoke. “Well there’s not much to it really we just haven’t found what our special talents are yet, but it’s only natural that we haven’t. We’ve only been ponies for about two months.”
The mare then spoke. “You see we are both Newfoals.”
“Come on Suzy, if we don’t leave now then we won’t get this bed back to Hoofington by nightfall.” The stallion said and with that the two left leaving more questions than answers.
***
The next day Cheerilee was getting class started as usual. “Settle down now my little ponies. Today we will…” Five hooves shot up in the air. “Yes girls you have questions?” The teacher asked. Then the five all started to talk at once. “One at a time, please! Now it seems that you all have the same question so Apple Bloom why don’t you state the question.”
“Well Ms. Cheerilee, yesterday the five of us met a pair of grown ponies without Cutie Marks and we asked them why they didn’t have’em. They said that they were Newfoals and only been ponies for two months. What were they talking about?”
“Newfoal is a slang term for a pony that used to be a human from Terra.” Diamond Tiara raised her hoof again. “Yes, Diamond Tiara?”
“Where is Terra?”
Cheerilee looked to see all her students and they all had the same wondering looks on their little faces. “None of you know? It’s been the big news all over Equestria! Remember three months ago when the whole land quaked and every unicorns’ horn lit up?”
“That? I thought that like my sister my magic was going to show me the way to my Cutie Mark, I really thought I could make earthquakes,” Sweetie Bell said.
“I stopped caring about the news when I quit the school paper. Diamond Tiara said.
Cheerilee then let out a big sigh and begun to explain. “Three months ago for some reason no pony knows Equestria was transported from our earth to another earth we call Terra. In Terra there is no magic and it is ruled by creatures called humans. In order for humans to come to Equestria they must be turned into ponies by a process called ponification.”
“Oh yeah, my aunt Light Touch was supposed to be doing that for work.” Feather Weight said.
“What do humans look like and why do they want to come here?” Scootaloo asked.
“Why do we call them Newfoals and why do they need to be ponified to come here?” Silver Spoon asked.
Cheerilee was very proud that her students want to learn so much but there was a problem about this whole situation that really bothered her. “I don’t know.”
“But Mith Cheerilee, we thought you knew everythin.” Twist said.
“Well I’m sorry but I don’t.” Cheerilee hated that she couldn’t provide the answers that her students wanted. “I will look into your questions though; now let’s get back to today’s lesson.”
***
Later that day Cheerilee went to Twilight Sparkles library. “Twilight I need your help, my students want to know more about Terra, Humans, and Newfoals, but I don’t know any more than the public announcements that were made months ago. Do you have anything that can help me?”
“Funny you should mention Terra. Princess Celestia wrote to me asking for ideas on how to get more ponies involved with our new human neighbors. I can think of no better way to enrich our young minds and forge new friendships over there then with a field trip. I have to clear it with the princess first of course but don’t think that will be a problem.” Twilight said.
Cheerilee was ecstatic. “Yes! That sounds wonderful. Not all things can be learned in the classroom, this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity for them!”
“Alright, Spike and I will try to arrange it with Princess Celestia and while she and the human government set up the details I’ll try to get some notes for you to lecture from on the trip. Now Cheerielee this trip will probably last more than one day and I have heard that things can get a little rough over there so you probably should only take students who have their parents’ permission.
“I’ll start making permission slips right away.” Cheerilee said.
“Good but since you’re the teacher you need to plan an itinerary for the trip. A check list of what you want them to see and learn.
Twilight turned to her dragon assistant. “Spike, make the list.”
“On it Twilight.” Spike said getting out a scroll and quill.
Cheerilee thought out loud. “Well then they want to see some humans and know what they are like, that should be easy enough. They also want to know why they needed to come here and they had so many questions about ponification.”
“You could easily get those answers by visiting a Conversion Bureau. That’s where the ponification process takes place.
We might even be able to arrange for you all to see the process in action” Twilight said.
“Visit a Conversion Bureau…” Spike wrote.
Cheerilee continued. “We should also see how they live, a tour of the town or city the Bureau is in will do. Oh and we must visit one of their famous landmarks if there is one near a Bureau.”
“We will also need to set up food and lodgings for at least one night; I’m told human cities can be pretty big. And a local guide should be able to answer any questions you or the class might have,” said Twilight.
Spike kept writing as they talked. “Okay…that’s everything so far, anything else?”
“No that should be everything.” Cheerilee said.
“Okay Spike, send it.” Twilight Sparkle said. In green flame and a wisp of smoke the letter was sent.
***
Celestia smiled when she read the letter. “This is a wonderful idea; I had already decided to send reporters to Terra for special edition of every newspaper in Equestria but if we include a report from these children then it will speak to ponies of all ages.”
Luna however was not as optimistic. “Sister, are you sure about this? Many places in Terra are as dangerous, if not more than so the Everfree Forest!”
“Their safety is my chief concern Luna, I will take full responsibility. The World Central Government has assured me that they will assign their best to watch over our ponies.”
“Celestia, I know that the humans desperately need our help and the more ponies working toward that the more we can save. It is the right thing for us to do but what will this mean for our subjects?”
Celestia opened a door to a room with a caldron containing a purple liquid. “This will mean a change for our people; if that change is for the better I cannot yet say.”
***
The next day in the W.C.G. headquarters a high ranking councilman Alexander Strong Elk a man of Native American decent was waiting for someone when he heard a knock at the door. “Enter.”
“Lt. Wheeler, reporting as ordered sir.” He was a well built man with neatly cut red hair and blue eyes. He was wearing grey fatigues.
“Lieutenant, I need you for a highly sensitive mission.” Strong Elk handed him an electronic data pad with all the details of the mission.
Lt. Wheeler had an annoyed look on his face. “This is a joke right?”
“I’m afraid not Wheeler.”
“Sir, baby sitting a bunch of pony kids is not the kind of thing you send a highly trained member of the World Central Military on.”
“Princess Celestia requested that these children be guided and protected by the best and you are the best we got. She needs these excursions by her subjects to go well in order to get more of her people helping with the Conversion Bureaus.”
“Councilman Strong Elk, I joined the W.C.M. to help mankind recover from that disaster, not make it easier to give up their humanity.”
“And the W.C. G. agrees that that is our main focus but the more people who are ponified the less strain there is on our resources and that means we can focus more on things like restoring our planet and development of the X-01 Spearhead. How many of your missions have been suppressing Food Riots?”
“About 85% sir.”
“So I must assume that you’re tired of using force on people who are just frustrated by all the food shortages. This can help lessen those.”
“Yes sir, when and where is this class supposed to arrive?”
“In one week they should be arriving at the Orlando International Airport. Orlando was chosen because of your familiarity of the area and it meets the teacher’s criteria of having a famous landmark, or what’s left of one. You are to meet them upon arrival. Lieutenant I remind you that if anything happens to those children the other ponies could pull back support. You must not let anything happen to them.”
“Yes sir, I’ll make arrangements to be there.” Lt. Wheeler then thought. “So my next mission will be at my old home town. I still can’t believe a man of my skill has to look after a bunch of kid ponies! Doesn’t matter I will follow my orders even if I don’t like them. I made a commitment and I follow it through to the end. Let’s just hope nothing goes wrong.”
***
Meanwhile in Orlando a young man named Eric was climbing up the stairs of one of the few skyscrapers left in the city. When he got to the floor he needed to be the skinny man with messy red hair wearing sunglasses he opened the door and entered a room that was much better of then the rest of the crumbling city. Inside were an older man with grey hair and brown eyes and an Asian woman with long black hair and amber eyes.
“Eric, good to see you my boy.” The man was Edgar Redgate, one of the biggest crime bosses in the world; he was also Eric’s boss.
“You have a job for me Mr. Redgate?” Eric asked walking closer to Redgate.
“No closer!” The woman yelled pulling out a gun and a dagger.
Redgate stood up. “Kyoshi! Forgive her Eric, she just very protective of me. Her loyalty is a trait to be admired. Now the reason I called you here Eric. As you know I made my business by being able to procure the items people need in these troubled times. I sell them food, medicine, whatever they need and I get these things by either getting to them before W.C.G. knows about them or in most cases by taking them from both W.C.G. and the Military. And one of the things we need to do this is information and unfortunately my source for inside information has recently died in a fire so until I can secure a new one, we need to steal the info. That is you come in Eric, the Conversion Bureaus all have High Security Data Pads that have the time tables and routes for all food and medical supplies to be delivered to them. I want you to break in and take one for me so my tech guys can decode it.”
“No problem Mr. Redgate. Just give me a week to case the joint and I’ll have a perfect plan to get you your data pad.” Eric said.
***
“Good, play this right and you could be on the fast track to being a well paid member of my organization.” Redgate said.
Twilight Sparkle had come to Cheerielee’s house with a letter. “Good news Cheerilee! The Princess has set up all the details. In one week you and your class will be going the city of Orlando on Terra!”
“Thank you Twilight, I will start handing out permission slips tomorrow. This will sure to be a field trip that this class will never ever forget!” Cheerilee beamed.